EL BARRIO, THE BRONX – Back home in the friendly (well, more like familiar) confines of the Bronx. Among other things, I found out this week it is apparently Buffalo is also called the Nickel City because of the Buffalo Nickel. The bit of bar trivia nonsense will not be part of this article’s discussions, though. Instead, we will come to terms with the playoff bound Mets, the pointlessness of pre-season football and huge soccer transfer deadline fiasco between giants Manchester United and Real Madrid.
Playoff Bound Mets: Yup, it’s time to accept this, Mets fans. Good job by Real Sandy Alderson for err… doing his job? Odd to compliment that tool but he did get the Mets the bats needed to win the NL East. The powerhouse pitching staff that includes a returning Steven Matz (and next year Zach Wheeler) has found some run scorers along with it. You have Yoanis Cespedes (for the rest of us), the returning captain David Wright and a stud draft pick by RSA, Mike Conforto. Conforto is the son of former Penn State Linebacker Michael Conforto and his mom is a former Olympic synchronized swimmer. He is born sports star and the best farm bat the Mets have had since Wright. I don’t know how far they will go but I am just happy we will be at the party… Also, spare a thought and laugh for the Washington Nationals. Remember when they made the playoffs but shutdown star pitcher Stephen Strasburg, for his own good and future playoff attempts? Hahhaha. Great decision, you phlebs!
Pre-season Football: I warn you – this is one of those things I say I don’t care about but continue to complain about. I am trying to give up football… but there is nothing to watch in the summer. I try and watch the Jets pre-season games and can’t be made to give a damn. Judging by attendance, neither can most fans. Sports talk radio is so bored they try and talk about the roster and who will win the 3rd string tight end position. That talk is as boring as the games and any reality show on VH1.
Soccer Deal Fiasco: This week in the soccer world there was the most insane bit of deal news ever. In the soccer there are transfers – not trades – so players and their contracts are bought by clubs. Occasionally, a player may be added to a transfer to improve an offer. And there is a deadline for this that is roughly the same all across the world, give or take 12 hours. That is your background; the real story is Team A, Manchester United of England, who have a player that is one of the best in the world at goalie, Spanish net-minder David De Gea. Real Madrid of Spain wants to buy said player but United have put a high price tag on him. So finally, on the last day of the deadline, Real Madrid, put up another offer and throw their starting goalkeeper in. United has a collective, “Finally, an offer we can work with!” They review the offer while making other deals and send the paperwork over to Real Madrid. Somehow, by the time Madrid get the offer and submit it, it was past the Spanish deadline so deal has been cancelled.
I find it funny because both sides are blaming each other but Madrid are known for playing games. As a United fan, I say “Haha Real! There was the whole summer transfer season but you wait til the last minute and lost out in the game of chicken?!” For absolutely brilliant reactions, check out the buzzfeed article.
Stay tuned for more goodies tomorrow and comment below… Oh, and check out and us SnapCall on your phone tonight for the USA vs Australia in Rugby. Be a great American in the process! The game is on NBC Sports Network at 7:30 pm EST.
